Harry Pickering believes Blackburn Rovers have laid a solid foundation with their start to the Championship campaign. The defender pointed to the team's adaptation to a new tactical plan as a source of confidence for the challenges ahead, starting with a home fixture against Cardiff City on 10 October.
Blackburn sit 16th in the table with nine points from their opening eight matches, having scored and conceded 12 goals. They took four points from their last two games before the international break, including a 3-1 victory over Millwall where Oladapo Afolayan scored twice.
Pickering acknowledged the demanding early schedule, which included ten games across six weeks. "It has been good," he said. "Obviously, there has been a lot of games, Saturday and Tuesday for most weeks, especially for the lads that have played every minute."
The left-back emphasised that the team's work in pre-season is paying off. "We worked on it all pre-season and it is a different way to how we were playing from last season, so I think we have adapted pretty well," Pickering added. Manager Tony Mowbray has implemented a revised approach, with the recent 2-2 draw at Portsmouth showing their attacking threat, as Afolayan both scored and provided an assist.
Afolayan is the club's top scorer this season with three goals, and his partnership with Pickering was evident in the build-up to Ryoya Morishita's goal at Fratton Park. The team will look to build on that momentum when they face a Cardiff side that is 21st and seeking consistency. Fans can check the full schedule on the club's fixtures page and view the current standings.
With the international break concluded, the focus at Ewood Park is firmly on securing a positive result to climb the Championship table. The match against Cardiff kicks off at 3pm on Saturday.
Further reading: Lancashire Telegraph
